There are a number of problems associated with the construction of multi-story buildings using the traditional construction techniques of Poured Concrete frame buildings, Pre-Cast Concrete frame buildings, conventional Structural Steel frame buildings, conventional Wood Frame buildings and Masonry construction as described in more detail below. Multi-story buildings constructed with these traditional construction techniques are built in the traditional manner of field craftsmen applying construction materials (dimensional lumber, thin gauge steel members, individual structural steel members) or hardscape materials (cinder block, brick, concrete) to first fabricate the frame of the multi-story dwelling on a foundation at the building site according to a set of architectural plans. While there are few architectural, structural, or dimensional limitations, these construction techniques require a sequential, craft-based, field building format, where item A must be completed before item B can begin, and in turn, item B must then be completed before item C can begin and so on. For example, the ground level walls must be completed before the installation of utilities on the ground level can begin, the second level walls must be completed before substantial work on upper floor walls can begin, and the first floor walls on the building must be framed before finishes can be applied to the first floor walls. While these methods of construction have worked for many years, there are inherent inefficiencies in these methods that result in significant time, cost, and quality penalties.
Traditional construction techniques involve a lengthy process and, therefore, result in construction activity of extended duration. In addition, the finish work is accomplished only after the structural work is completed.
This in situ fabrication results in a lack of quality, is prone to errors, and requires the workers to innovate with respect to the interconnection of utilities, thereby resulting in inconsistency in implementation.
Much of the work done is at the mercy of local weather conditions which can delay schedules and damage materials.
The materials and supplies are mostly hand carried, piece-by-piece, into and within the building during construction, which is an inefficient process.
It is common to have 12- to 30-month construction schedules in the traditional construction of a multi-story building, especially when brick or cinder block construction is used, since these materials inherently limit the daily rise of the walls.
The process is labor intensive, and it is frequently difficult to locate workers of the desired skill level.
There is typically a wide diversity in the quality of building materials that are available and the skills of the workers performing the construction tasks.
Supervision and quality control in traditional multi-story building is non-uniform.
Advantages of traditional construction techniques are that these multi-story buildings can be built to any size or layout that is desired within the limitations of the structural capabilities of the framing material. Multi-story buildings can easily be built with the architectural features, room size, and layout being determined by the architect, builder, and/or owner. Other advantages of traditional multi-story building construction techniques are:                Ability to build a wide diversity of buildings.        Individual customization is easy.        Well known and widely accepted method of construction.        Subcontractors and workers are generally available.        
However, this construction process, especially early on, is highly dependent on weather conditions and most often can only occur during daylight hours. An interruption in the flow of construction caused by one of the subcontractors has a ripple effect in that each subcontractor must await the completion of another subcontractor's work before they can begin their work. Furthermore, operating in a field environment is detrimental to maintaining the quality of the construction because it is difficult using portable hand tools to precisely cut and assemble framing material into walls and various finish elements with precise tolerances. It is often difficult in multi-story building construction to find a sufficient number of skilled workmen who can craft a structure of high quality at very reasonable costs. The quality suffers and there is also a significant amount of waste, since the materials must be handled at least two to three times between shipment from the factory or mill to being delivered to the individual job site, and there are many steps of additional material handling on the job site. There is excess labor and significant breakage as a result of this repetitive handling of materials. In addition, typically there aren't people at individual job sites all day to receive materials, so materials and supplies are exposed to the possibility of theft and bad weather. Surplus materials, unless they represent a significant quantity, are discarded since the value of salvaged materials does not offset the cost involved to salvage these materials.
In many areas of the world, population growth is greatly exceeding the growth of available housing. Therefore, one of the primary building construction problems in the world is the ability to very rapidly build large quantities of housing to address the growing deficit. This problem is compounded by limited amounts of skilled labor at a reasonable cost. Traditional construction techniques are not responding to the existing and growing housing shortage, and new means of producing housing in very large quantities effectively and quickly are in great demand.
Thus, traditional construction techniques fail to deliver the quality and speed of construction that is desirable. In many locations, these impediments result in a severe shortage of multi-story buildings and a commensurate lack of available quality buildings.